1. Field of the Invention
The present invention, relates to method and apparatus for water purification, and to combination of water purification and energy generation, and more particularly, to application of such method and apparatus to industrial and municipal waste-water treatment.
2. Prior Art
The treatment of industrial waste water and sewage has posed many difficult problems to overcome. For example, various chemicals that are present in industrial waste water resist removal. Similarly, sewage waste water may also contain a wide array of substances, some of which are also difficult to separate from the water.
Even when presently known methods work, there is room for improvement. For example, the area of land that is required for such treatment is a valuable commodity; it is desirable to reduce this area so that greater utility can be made of the land.
It is also desirable to reduce the investment required in water treatment-building construction and also the cost of operation afterwards.
It is similarly desirable to increase efficiency in purifying industrial waste water and sewage water, thereby providing a higher quality of water for release into the environment as well as lessening the need for treatment chemicals and flocculants.
It is also desirable to be able to adapt to changes in flow rates, for example when sewage flow rates increase or decrease while maintaining high treatment efficiency.
It is further desirable that such operation be temperature insensitive over the normal operating temperature range of the system.
It is desirable that much of the remaining accumulated sludge be of sufficient quality that it can be used as fertilizer or adapted as a fuel, thereby creating a revenue stream.
Also, prior waste water treatment methods and systems tend to be slow, often requiring twelve or more hours to chemically react with certain flocculants or to be affected by biological treatment methods sufficient for discharge. If the time required is great, then a substantially large facility is required to treat a correspondingly large flow rate. If the treatment process is slow, the facility may simply not be able keep up with the flow during peak periods. The risk of then having to, by way of mere necessity, discharge substantially polluted waste water also arises. This poses a bio-hazard for all concerned.
The above needs also apply in general to the purification of water, for whatever purpose and regardless of how the water is to be used, and in particular, water that will subsequently be used as drinking water. Drinking water often begins as river or lake water and is apt to contain a variety of pollutants and organisms that require removal prior to consumption. The instant invention applies to the purification and treatment of drinking water, as well.
Accordingly, there exists today a need for a water treatment mixture and system for use that furthers the attainment of these objectives.
Clearly, such a product and system would be useful and desirable.
Waste water treatment mixtures and systems are, in general, known. The use of diatomite to filter beer, stabilize dynamite, or improve asphalt is known. Diatomite has also been used in China to filter sewage with different mixtures and always with an intermediate filter. While the structural arrangements of the known types of products and systems may, at first appearance, have similarities with the present invention, they differ in material respects. These differences, which will be described in more detail hereinafter, are essential for the effective use of the invention and which admit of the advantages that are not available with the prior products and systems.